


Running in Circles

by LigerCat



Category: Phineas and Ferb
Genre: Aged-Up Character(s), Bad Writing, Complicated Relationships, Don't Judge, F/M, Gen, I Don't Even Know, On-Again/Off-Again Relationship, Unhealthy Relationships, Writing Exercise
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-18
Updated: 2020-04-18
Packaged: 2021-03-01 22:14:54
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,240
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23704465
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LigerCat/pseuds/LigerCat
Summary: No matter what he did, he always ended up right back where they started.
Relationships: Complicated Phineas Flynn/Isabella Garcia-Shapiro, Vanessa Doofenshmirtz/Ferb Fletcher
Comments: 1
Kudos: 16





	Running in Circles

**Author's Note:**

> Don't own.

Phineas couldn't believe they were doing this. But Ferb had been right, it was practically a requirement by now to come back after a final "tour," though they never really had a "tour," since they only played one venue twice.  
Crossing his arms, he leaned against the wall backstage. A few stagehands darted around, making last-minute adjustments. It was kinda annoying, they could have set their equipment up themselves in half the time. Probably less.

With a sigh, he turned away from the stage, catching sight of Ferb and Vanessa trying, and failing, to blend into the shadows. Once they found out they weren't being given dressing rooms, Ferb had muttered something about them trying to stop him from checking off something from his bucket list. Phineas had no idea what he was talking about and, considering the look he'd shared with Vanessa right after, he was pretty sure it didn't want to know either.

Still, he rolled his eyes at them sneaking kissing. Why were they being sneaky about it? He was pretty sure they could start making out and literately no one there would care. After a few failed attempts to chat with the stagehands, he was starting to wonder if they were realistic-looking robots. Continuing to watch them stirred a hint of jealousy, and he dropped his gaze to the wooden floor. As happy as he was that Ferb was happy, he wished it would be as easy for him. But Phineas lacked something, the drive, he guessed, to push past the hardships that came with romance and actually make a healthy, longlasting relationship.

But when he'd tried mentioning that to him, it had started an argument with Ferb saying that wasn't it and calling Phineas' ex a few choice words that had stopped them from speaking to each other for an eternity.

Okay, so it was actually only like two days, but it felt like forever.

He really hoped Ferb didn't plan on repeating any of that to her face. They'd have a crowd of disappointed fans on their hands if he chased or pissed off the Ferbettes before they could even start playing.

Besides, it was the first time he'd be seeing Isabella since their latest break-up. Before the night was up, one of them would make some dumb joke or pun that the other would respond to with a similar joke or pun and they'd end up laughing and wondering why they broke up again and the whole circle would repeat for the whatever-I-lost-count-years-ago time.

But knowing the pattern didn't help either of them break it. And it was always because of something stupid too, like he forgot it was their two month anniversary or something. And who even cared when it was their... something that wasn't their first two month anniversary because of how many times they'd dated before and lasted two or more months? Or because he was spending too much time inventing. She never seemed to understand it was his job now, not just some summer fun to fill up his days. Though he couldn't deny the fun part. Even when she did something he didn't like, she always found some greater transgression on his part to overshadow it. It wasn't that he thought he was perfect or she was always overreacting or anything, heck he knew that wasn't it, but he wished she would admit she could mess things up in their relationship too. It wasn't all his fault.

If it was, it made him wonder why she always jumped at the chance to get back together. Or maybe the bigger question, why he always agreed to when he knew it would end in another fight and more heartbreak. He should've learned his lesson by now. Maybe he had and today would be the day he'd say no when she suggested they grab lunch or whatever together.

Glancing back at his brother and sister-in-law, he almost laughed. He remembered back when they were in college, everyone thought his and Isabella's relationship would be the one to work out and Ferb and Vanessa's would be the one unable to overcome their differences and go down in flames. A few bets had been lost due to the opposite happening. Which was probably the only upside, if people were betting on his personal relationships, they deserved to lose their money.

...Okay, maybe that was a little harsh. Some of those people were friends of his and he didn't wish anything bad on them, including losing their money. He still didn't like the bets though.

Movement farther down from the kissing couple drew his attention, and he straightened up before rolling his eyes at his own automatic reaction. He had to get that under control if he wasn't going to give in to her again.

Isabella strolled towards the couple, flanked by her three old Fireside girls and fellow background singers. Her short, clingy, pink dress didn't leave anything to his imagination, and she shot him a pleased smile when she saw him looking her over. He frowned, hoping she was wearing that because she wanted to and not because she knew it would make people stare at her curves. If she was only wearing it in the hopes of making him jealous or to make him stare and drool over her like some manic, he'd be seriously questioning if she knew him at all. He thought she understood that he didn't like her because of her looks. Not that he wasn't aware of the fact that she was pretty, but if he was only after pretty, he had plenty of dating options that weren't her and wouldn't break up with him over any little thing. But they didn't have her skills, her smarts, her ability to take down a guy three times her size without breaking a sweat or a nail... They couldn't build a functioning time machine even if they had the blueprints. 

Other girls, women, no matter how pretty they were, they just weren't her.

And that was probably why he kept agreeing to get back together even though she drove him insane.

Actually, he had to be insane. He was doing the same thing over and over again expecting different results and there was that quote about it being the definition of insanity, or one of them anyway. Of course, that meant Isabella was also insane... And Isabella was giving him a weird look, and he realized he'd zoned out while staring at her, still frowning. He forced a smile. Just 'cause he didn't want to resume their romance didn't mean he had to be rude. He wasn't sure he could be purposefully rude to her. Or anyone really.

She turned away to speak to the no longer kissing Ferb and Vanessa.

As he kept watching, he felt his determination already slipping. He wanted to talk and joke with her, no matter how rocky their relationship, he'd know her almost as long as Ferb. She was one of his oldest and dearest friends, cutting her out of his life enough to stop falling for her was unthinkable.

Phineas sighed. He might as well suck it up and embrace the cycle. At least they'd have a few months of fun and happiness before getting on each other's nerves.

He really didn't want to spend the rest of his life running in circles with her, but occasional happiness sounded better than none.

**Author's Note:**

> I haven't written in awhile, ~~and I sprained a finger which made it really difficult to~~ , so I picked a random setting and wrote whatever popped into my head in the hopes of getting those writing juices flowing again. Which sounds kind of disgusting when I think about it...


End file.
